reitz_skill

Overview

This skill generates Python library and API designs in the style of Kenneth Reitz, emphasizing simplicity, readability, and developer ergonomics. It helps you craft intuitive client libraries, fluent interfaces, and rich response objects that make the common case trivial. Use it to shape APIs that feel "for humans" and pleasant to read and use.

How this skill works

The skill inspects proposed API surfaces or code samples and rewrites them to follow Reitz's principles: sensible defaults, minimal configuration, clear method names, and helpful errors. It produces idiomatic Python examples, class designs, and short guidance for return types, exceptions, and entry points. Output is focused, actionable, and ready to drop into a library or documentation.

When to use it

• Designing a new Python client library or SDK for an API
• Refactoring an existing public API to improve developer experience
• Creating fluent builders, query objects, or chainable interfaces
• Choosing default configuration and error handling strategies
• Writing README examples that demonstrate the 90% case

Best practices

• Make the common case require zero configuration and one obvious call
• Prefer descriptive keyword arguments and sensible defaults
• Return rich objects with helpful properties and repr/str implementations
• Keep the public surface minimal; say no to rarely used features
• Provide specific, actionable exceptions and guidance in messages

Example use cases

• Convert a low-level HTTP wrapper into a human-friendly Client with get/post shortcuts
• Design a fluent QueryBuilder that supports chaining and a single execute() call
• Define rich domain objects (User, Project) that wrap raw responses and expose useful methods
• Draft helpful configuration errors that tell users exactly how to fix setup problems
• Create package-level shortcuts so users can use the library in one import